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When dogs attack kids
Filed under: Tweens, In The News, Playground Bureau
In the drive through line-up this morning, I heard a story that disturbed me so much that halfway through, I flipped the sound off and glanced worriedly at my son in the rearview mirror. He was thoughtfully eating his cinnamon raisin bagel and looking out the window and I thought: sometimes I really don't want to let him out into the world.But I turned the radio back on, because I needed to hear the rest, to hear the ending.
An 11-year-old British Columbia boy is making headlines, for horrific reasons. The boy was playing basketball outside with his friends at his local elementary school when he was attacked by a pit bull, who at first licked him, and then viciously assaulted his face. The attack was so violent , the young boy required 100 stitches. The situation would likely have been even more grave had a witnessing 20-year-old neighbor not stepped in with a baseball bat and some serious moxie. A second pit bull at the site circled while the attack was in progress.
This story gives me shivers. Sean Bajwa was playing basketball at 4:30 in the evening in a public space, a child's space. The dogs were not on leashes, and apparently unsupervised. The man who intervened will likely have nightmares for a long time to come, and Sean Bajwa will likely be scarred forever, both physically and mentally.
Sean's father says that the owners of the pit bulls should be punished. I agree, and moreover, I think the punishment should be hefty. I've heard about too many of these attacks on kids -- if there were a serious penalty for dog attacks -- say jail time or a hefty fine -- perhaps more dog owners would be apt to keep their dogs in leashed, supervised areas.
I know there are a lot of pit bull owners who say that the breed is safe and wonderful and that the problem with vicious animals is due to owner neglect. Perhaps this is true, maybe it's not -- but the fact remains that we hear a lot more about pit bulls attacking than Schnoodles and Labs. We need licenses to drive a car. Maybe it's time we think of granting - and not granting -- licenses for dog owners.
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ReaderComments (Page 2 of 2)
5-07-2008 @ 3:48PM
CLM said...Could someone PLEASE explain to me what exactly is wrong with a LEASH?! I grew up with dogs and I've owned dogs for much of my adult life and would never even consider taking them off-lead outside of a dog park or designated off-lead area.
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5-07-2008 @ 9:24PM
Sherry said...Mia, are you honestly comparing children to dogs in that way? When was the last time you read about someone being mauled by a kid running through the mall? Or a kid who didn't come when called leaving someone critically injured? Sure, maybe a wild kid tripped up someone or bumped into someone, but no kid at the mall ever lunged at someone and ripped their throat out. And here is a little bit of info for you, if a kid running through a mall or out into the street does result in an injury to someone then the parents ARE held responsible. No, kids shouldn't run wild any where and they should learn to listen to their parents, but a child's behavior and a dog's behavior are not the same thing.
And this wasn't a case of a kid not knowing how to act around a dog. This kid was minding his own business when an unleased and totally unsupervised dog attacked him in a space where dogs probably weren't even allowed to be in the first place. No school I know of allows dogs on the playground at least.
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5-07-2008 @ 9:57PM
Mia said...This was the reply to Craig... I am not comparing that children are mauling people. But it is offending when someone says that dog owners who have their dogs off leash are worse than drunk drivers. And yes there are cases where 10 year olds have killed other people (purposely) driven their parents car withOUT permission. I am just saying that both kids and dogs should be controlled. I never commented on the issue with what happened to that poor child. Just the replying to Craig. And yes kids should be controlled in the malls when they are running AMOK (where the parents are clearly not watching them). The same thing goes for dogs they need to be controlled. Another thing my dog is ONLY off the leash when I know no other people are around or children. I also never said the child that was attacked is at fault. There you are twisting my words. I simply commented on other children that run up to some strange dog that they dont know and pet it.
5-09-2008 @ 5:02PM
Vix said...I have to agree with Mia. I am saddened and angry by the ignorance of some people responding. Dogs are animals and yes, can react violently if not properly trained. I whole heartedly believe that children and dogs can live peacefully together if both are properly trained. Children can be taught to be the "pack leader" so that the dogs respect them. Dogs can also be off-leash and behave if properly trained. Please don't (excuse my pun) attack all dog owners because some are bad. Just as there are some bad parents, there are bad dog owners. The good dog owners should have to defend themselves or the breeds they love because there are a few bad apples in the bunch.
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5-11-2008 @ 1:20AM
Rutta_7701 said...Recently I heard about a 6 year old that was attacked by a dog, this dog was NOT a pitbul. The little girl was walking into her yard and the dog approached her and jumped up and bit her in the face. She's now going to have to have surgery because of what the dog did. She was NOT instigating this dog and might I add again, this dog was not a pitbul. I'm sorry to say but I don't know what kind of dog it was. I do agree that most of the time it is pitbuls that attack, but we all should be causious around all dogs, especially with our children.
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5-11-2008 @ 10:25PM
Steph said...i agree with Jen and Derek. I would think the dogs that attack only would attack if the were mistreated. Its not the breed of dog, its how it is treated. My friends brother owned a pit bull, and it never bit anyone. My grandparents own this little fluffy dog, which bit my brother when he was 6 and now he is terrified of tiny dogs. It all depends on how the dog is raised!
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5-12-2008 @ 3:05PM
Caralee said...Keri-DUH it is YOUR dogs fault not the pittbulls!Do you seriously blame the pitt?It is also your BILS fault for not respecting that your dog is dog aggressive...
Reply
5-12-2008 @ 3:11PM
Caralee said...KEYWORD here is UNSUPERVISED!!!!!This is 100% the owners fault for being negligent!!Too many of these beautiful,powerful and amazing dogs are being put into the wrong hands and the wrong people are breeding them.It is so sad for these magnificent animals.I bet 100% of you who are FOR banning the breed,have NEVER owned or known a pitt...Trust mankind to destroy something it doesn't understand.But yet,it's ok to invade others countries and try to force themt o live how we live and to KILL thousands of innocents..I'm so ashamed of what people are...
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5-13-2008 @ 10:23PM
Tisha said...When I was 4, my grandmother took me to purchase my first dog, a reputedly calm and gentle Cocker Spaniel. That nice, calm family dog turned on me with no provocation or reason. This kid ? got off easy comparatively. The Pitt didn't do much damage at all. The cocker the tried to eat my throat out left me with two hundred and thirty six stitches. All on my face, and came two milimetres from taking out my left eye.
I'll wear the scars until the day I die, but I've never once hated any kind of dog for what happened. When I was six, my father bought a doberman, named Lucy. Lucy was my very best friend, and she loved me dearly. Lucy was put to sleep by a hysterical twit because she refused to let said hysterical twit's sixteen year old pervert of a son near me, and snapped at him, and when he persisted in trying to remove me from my own yard, she bit him. Did a good bit of damage too. But because she was a doberman, a "Vicious Breed." they didn't care about the situation. Only that she had bitten a "child". They put her down. Two months later the Pervert was sent to a mental facility because his mother caught him playing hide the hot dog with his three year old sister.
There are no "Vicious Breeds" of dog. Only individual animals. This dog? needs to be put down and the owner charged. If you have an animal you need to control it unless it is acting in defense of you, or your property. If you want to talk temperament, look to the toy breeds, or the popular breeds. Of which Pitts happen to be one of several at the top, especially in poor areas. Inbreeding by irresponsible back yard breeders is what causes unstable tempers in dogs. It happened with the Cocker, the Dalmation, the Lab and now it's happening with the Pitt Bull. If you want a source for your problems, Look to irresponsible owners and worse, those among us who would throw out the whole bushel of good animals for one bad, and make trumped up claims , or misquote breeds for their own agendas.
The problem isn't the animals, it's unfortunately the people that try and own an animal they cannot or will not train and control.
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